Dear Editor,
I am a concerned parent and member of the Vail community. I attended the school board meeting last week and have many concerns about the way the sheriffs conducted themselves. As such, I sent a letter to Sheriff Nanos and he has not responded. I’m still very concerned about our constitutional rights being trampled. Will you help me publish the letter in the Vail Voice? I feel the community need to know what really happened and who our sheriffs are. We the people need a positive trusting relationship with our sheriffs and we need to know they have the backs of law abiding citizens. I appreciate any help you can provide on this matter. Thank you.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent him:
“Please accept my humblest thanks for all that you do for the people of Pima County. I am a native member of Pima County and proud of it. I am also a nurse, wife, mother and member of the Vail community. I had the pleasure of attending the Vail School Board meeting this past Tuesday 4/27/21. I was planning to speak on behalf of my children and many of my neighbors children as well as teachers I know personally that have been negatively affected by the pandemic and all of the harmful mandates forced upon them. I arrived early, around 6:15pm and was pleased to see so many beautiful smiling faces, some of whom were familiar to me. It was very peaceful and even upbeat, as we joined in solidarity, agreeing about the need to fight for our kids and our community. There were some people with demonstration signs, exercising their first amendment rights. As it got closer to 7pm, more people arrived. Those of us who wished to speak, followed the rules and filled out a request form with our names, email addresses and topic of discussion. We lined up as we were asked to do, only to find out one of the school district employees announced the meeting was cancelled. We all started asking why it was cancelled and no one could give us a straight answer.
Around that time, approximately 6 sheriff’s SUV’s showed up and entered through the back door. A couple sheriffs came to the front lobby and told us they were not sure why the meeting was cancelled but that all of us parents needed to go home and we could come back when it was rescheduled. We kept asking them why it was cancelled and they gave vague explanations of it being “too heated, too many emotions, the board felt threatened.” There was zero threat of any violence, but understandably there have been 4 teen suicides in our small community over the last year, justifying emotions. We begged and pleaded with the deputies and sergeant to mediate with the board, who they first told us left the building, but later we found they were lying and the board members were hiding inside. Ultimately they did not want to hear from any of the hundreds of parents and students who showed up to have our voices heard. The sheriffs deputies were cordial and respectful for the most part, but I have many concerns about how they handled the whole thing. One of them acted belligerently toward us and was not very understanding and compassionate toward deeply hurt and concerned parents. I was trying to be nice and respectful and engage with them and asked several of them if they understood their duty to uphold and protect the constitution, the people and the first amendment and our right to free speech.
They said they empathized with us, but were there to protect the board members who felt threatened and they were there to keep the peace. The entire event, in my experience, was peaceful. Many of us asked again what their role was in being there and why they were not protecting us parents’ rights or the rights of the children we wanted to speak for. Your deputies could not give us an answer sir. They literally could not demonstrate how they are upholding the United States Constitution, our right to free speech and the most sacred first amendment. On top of the fact that the Vail Governing School board blatantly violated open meeting laws and refused to hear from one student or community member, your deputies do not even understand the oath they swore when they took on this job. I feel that this is a dereliction of duty on their and your behalf. This is outright taxation without representation. Have you or your colleagues forgotten what our founding fathers fought for?
Do you understand and believe in the United States Constitution? Do you respect and appreciate the brave men and women who have fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy in this wonderful country? If you and your deputies won’t defend the people’s rights and the constitution, who will? You are our last line of defense against tyranny and that is exactly what occurred on Tuesday night in Vail. Tyranny plan and simple. Demoralization of parents and children on the part of a rogue school board. And now it is happening across the county and state. The public schools have failed our kids and refuse to hear from them or their parents. We need your help Sheriff Nanos. Your bio says you have focused on fighting violent crimes, sex crimes and drug crimes in your career. We have all of that in Pima County. Why weren’t your deputies out fighting those crimes and the crimes against children happening at the border as hundreds of children are being trafficked every day here?
Why did over 8 of your staff need to show up to a peaceful demonstration where the only law being broken was an open meeting law? Why did your sergeant tell a parent he follows the “spirit of the law, not the letter of the law”? Are the school boards being financially incentivized to keep mask mandates and emergency pandemic mandates just like Governor Ducey is? Is your department being bribed to keep the people silent and protect the corrupt school boards and board of supervisors? The people of Pima County want answers sir, as do myself, my children, my neighbors and the entire Vail community. This tyranny cannot go on. You have an opportunity to act on behalf of the citizens who fund your paycheck and your pension. You have an incredible opportunity to take the lead and show your deputies and this community the good side of law enforcement.
Do not cave to political pressure. Do not give into tyranny. Remember the oath you swore to protect and uphold the constitution and I implore you to please protect the first amendment and the right to free speech and assembly. We are at a pivotal crossroad here and you have the ability to make a positive difference. Please do the right thing. People across the country are watching.
Allison Arguello
Dear Editor,
Mr. Carruth, I appreciate your efforts to carefully consider all angles of the “mask issue,” and I am asking that you pease reinstate the use of masks outdoors at Cienega High School, which absolutely qualifies as a large outdoor gathering and where the majority of the student body is not fully vaccinated.
Below are links and information regarding a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in AZ and Pima County as well as guidance from the current CDC website regarding masking among fully vaccinated people in small outdoor gatherings.
The Vail district’s characterization of the CDC’s outside mask guidance was misleading to say the least.
The POTUS and the CDC both stated the following:
“If you are fully vaccinated and want to attend a small outdoor gathering with people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated, or dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households, the science shows if you are vaccinated, you can do so safely unmasked,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a virtual White House briefing on Tuesday.
People are considered fully vaccinated by the CDC two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.”
This means that masks need to be worn inside and at large outside gatherings. The Cienega High School student body qualifies as a large outside gathering.
In addition, the majority of students are not fully vaccinated, so this invalidates the Cienega policy of allowing students to choose whether or not to wear a mask outside.
There is always a balance between private and public liberties and policies.
You would not let a student with a possible HIV infection walk around school touching door knobs, sinks, etc. if they were bleeding from a cut on their finger. Public Health Safety would dictate that the student wear a bandaid to protect him/herself/themselves from infection and others from a possible HIV infection. The same should apply to those who are unvaccinated &/or those who may be showing mild symptoms of COVID or those who are asymptomatic carriers. You don’t just let them walk around other students without a mask on because COVID-19 kills. Masks do not. And the highest affected age groups in Pima are those 20-44 followed by those under 20 years old, so anyone who says that kids & teens do not get COVID or don’t have long-term sequelae are completely mistaken.
Resources & links to data:
https://ktar.com/story/4390040/arizona-reports-820-new-covid-19-cases-24-additional-deaths-friday/
“Arizona public health officials on Friday [May 7, 2021] reported 820 new coronavirus cases and 24 additional deaths from COVID-19, and the state surpassed the 3 million mark for people getting at least one vaccine dose.
It was the largest case report since Saturday and the highest number of new deaths since April 20.”
From the CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html
People who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those who will interact with people who are hearing impaired
If you interact with people who rely on reading lips, you may have difficulty communicating while wearing a mask.
Consider wearing a clear mask or a cloth mask with a clear panel
If you are not able to get a clear mask, consider using written communication, closed captioning, or decreasing background noise to make communication possible while wearing a mask that blocks lips.
People with certain underlying medical conditions
Most people with underlying medical conditions can and should wear masks.
If you have respiratory conditions and are concerned about wearing a mask safely, discuss with your healthcare provider the benefits and potential risks of wearing a mask.
If you have asthma, you can wear a mask. Discuss with your healthcare provider if you have any concerns about wearing a mask.
What to do if you find wearing a mask uncomfortable?
It may help to practice wearing a mask at home for short periods to get used to the feeling and try different styles and fabrics recommended above.
Try relaxation techniques such as breathing in and out deeply or listening to soothing music while wearing a face mask, which can help to keep you calm.
Mask use and carbon dioxide
Wearing a mask does not raise the carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the air you breathe
A cloth mask does not provide an airtight fit across the face. The CO2 completely escapes into the air through the cloth mask when you breathe out or talk. CO2 molecules are small enough to easily pass through any cloth mask material. In contrast, the respiratory droplets that carry the virus that causes COVID-19 are much larger than CO2, so they cannot pass as easily through a properly designed and properly worn cloth mask.
Heidi Martell
Dear Editor,
Regarding the “Letter to the Editor” in the May 2021 paper publication that was signed, “Parents of the Vail School District.” First, let me, a parent of the Vail School District, be the first to say that I am one of, I am sure many, who did not have any part in the writing of this letter. I have my opinion of the subject and I have my opinion of the author’s opinion on the subject (note I do not say authors’), but it is my opinion and when I choose to write the editor, I will, as the our letters policy states on page 4, sign my full name and not hide my individual opinion behind a huge group of people in my community which I have no right or permission to speak for, otherwise the letter would not be published…..right??
Further, if your Letters Policy is not to publish anonymous letters, why on earth did you publish something signed like this and allow the author to get away with using a letter addressed to the editor to directly address any other person, in this case John Caruth? First, the content is beyond opinion and borders on threatening both to the elected board and to Mr. Caruth himself, and second, it allows the author to account those angry words as coming from every parent of a child in the Vail school district, which is libelous and wrong! If this author is so convinced he speaks for me, I would like him to consider what the definition of libel is.
I ask that you recant the letter and apologize to the collective parents of the Vail School District, no matter what their opinion of this individual’s opinions are. It is unprofessional, libelous and I am stunned that the Vail Voice chose to look the other way regarding the publishing policy on anonymous letters. The oversight might unintentionally give the impression that the Vail Voice is leaning away from being a neutral source of communication for the Vail community. I certainly hope that is not the reason for the oversight.
Becky Clowers
Dear Editor,
I teach High School English at Cienega High School. It is my eleventh year teaching, and my ninth year in Vail. Due to state standards, and state mandated testing, I am required to assign the readings of information texts: including U.S. seminal documents, editorials, and speeches. I am also required to teach students how to write argumentative research papers. Personally, as a former literature major, I would be happy to teach fiction all year round, but that is not a choice I have. I have to teach non-fiction. And, since I cannot have kids reading instruction manuals all day, controversial issues are unavoidable.
I know many teachers in my position may be upset about SB1532—a bill that just passed though the Arizona House of Representatives on a party line vote, and may soon become law, pending approval from the Republican led State Senate, and Governor Doug Ducey—but I, for one, am not upset. In fact, as a strong advocate for diversity in education, I am thrilled.
This bill, if passed, will make it a requirement for teachers to teach both sides of controversial issues. The bill states, under penalty of a $5,000 fine, “if a teacher chooses to discuss controversial issues of public policy or social affairs, the teacher, to the best of the teacher’s ability, shall present these issues from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.”
Think about what this means! If you are a parent or a student, say, passionate about the 1619 Project, or a parent or a student who believes that Westward Expansion also needs to taught from the perspectives of the massacred natives, or a parent or a student who believes the opening words from the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, should also be taught alongside Abigail Adams’ desperate pleas to “remember the ladies,” then you have just been handed a powerful new weapon. Now teachers will have to teach these things, or they will face a fine that makes up about 13% of their yearly pay (State Teacher Salary Benchmark Data, FY 2019-20, NEA CBMA, June 2020).
Now, I know some science teachers will be upset about this bill, because it might mean they will have to teach Flat Earth Theory. But they should embrace it too! Flat Earth Theory is some wacky stuff, and science classes are in need of a little fun.
Also, I know this bill was probably not drafted to promote diversity in education, or fun, for that matter. It was probably designed to stop programs like Critical Race Theory taught in places like New York, California, and Illinois. But this is not New York, California, or Illinois. This is Arizona! In Arizona, what sides of the issues do you think get edited out more?
Therefore, we should not judge bills on their intentions alone. We should judge them on their potential, and ultimately their results.
So, please join me in imagining all the potential behind this bill. Imagine all the underrepresented parts of history, culture, and government you can now force your teachers to teach. And please join me in thanking our representatives Gail Griffin, and Becky Nutt for voting for this pro-diversity bill. And, more importantly, please take some time to call Senator David Gowan at 602-926-5154. Let him know what parts of history, government, and culture you are excited about. And make sure he passes SB1532, so that your perspective can finally make its way into a classroom.
Chris Salvagio
Dear Editor,
I’ve enjoyed reading the Vail Voice for several years and appreciate it’s niche as the “Community Newspaper”. However, your attribution practice in the most recent issue fell short three times.
First, on the front page is an article containing a statement from John Carruth, the Vail School District Superintendent, but the rest of the article is unattributed. Did Mr. Carruth write the entire article, or just the statement? Next, there is a OP-ED piece that is clearly written by the owner of Viva Coffee Shop in Rita Ranch, but again the piece is unattributed. But, since it’s unattributed I can only assume that the piece states the editor’s position. Was that intended? Finally, and most troubling, the issue contains a letter to the editor that is signed ‘Parents of the Vail School District’.
I’m a parent in the Vail School District and I don’t want to be lumped in with the author of this letter! If the author is representing a social welfare group, then your attribution should make that clear. If the author wishes to remain anonymous, then the letter should be attributed that way.
You can do better, Vail Voice.
Jeff Thomas
Dear Editor,
Curious why you printed an anonymous letter only signed, Parents of the Vail School District, against your own policy? Was it from all parents? Especially since it was very threatening.
Stephen Elliot
Dear Editor,
I have written the following letter to the Editor. It is my intention, as a teacher in this district to shed some light on my experience during this school year, as well as my experience as a member of the community present at the April 27th board meeting. I have copied and pasted it below. If it is needed to be sent in another format, please let me know.
Thank you for all you do for our community.
Some days have felt like the 2020-21 school year would never end. And sometimes it felt like it was just yesterday that we were listening to the Governor’s announcement that schools would be closed. Shortly after, in order to earn hours for my masters class, I sat in a study session of our school board, where they discussed the Governor’s announcement. I still have my notes from that night. Our school board’s priorities were to ensure that our students missed out on as little of their education as possible, and that our staff were taken care of. Those priorities never changed. In some ways the 2020-21 school year has just felt like an ongoing extension from last Spring. However, as I reflect on the past 12 months, I see clear moments where changes happened and differences were made.
During this time last year, I was grateful to join a district wide committee that published digital flyers with resources for families, and ways to help ensure that students could access the general education opportunities. These flyers had motivational messages, links to other resources and support for balancing work and life (something that I and other staff members were just beginning to get a handle on). Individually, I continued to connect with the special education students and families I had already spent years working with. By this time, I was feeling crushed that kiddos who’d gone to Mesquite since kindergarten wouldn’t get their promotion. Thankfully, with my school, I helped plan and then participate (dressed as our school mascot) in an unforgettable promotion drive through that was full of laughter, tears and pride for our families and staff.
By June we had to begin planning for the next school year. I was on Mesquite’s Reopening Task Force. We were a diverse group of teachers and staff from all backgrounds. We considered ways to keep staff members safe from a virus we still didn’t have all answers, or a vaccine for. We considered ways to apply mandated and recommended mitigation measures while balancing the expectations of parents (and ourselves) to provide the best education possible, no matter what form that took. Some staff members, like myself, were incredibly excited to have students back on campus as soon as possible. Others were more cautious and wanted time and answers. But all of us found ways to support each other.
When that first day of school came we all started in the Remote Instruction phase. I will not pretend that excitement was the only thing I felt. I was nervous. What if there were connectivity issues, both technical and relational for me or my students? I had spent four years teaching special education. How was I going to form relationships with over twenty five kids, and through a computer screen no less. I remember telling myself that as important as standards are, as long as my students knew that they mattered to me, and their learning mattered to me that we could take whatever this year threw at us. Part of making this connection included using new Social Emotional Lessons (SEL) to help students at all levels understand that feelings of uncertainty and anxiety during this time can be supported, both by the adults in their lives and through their own coping skills.
My students have been so resilient this year. Every phase (Remote or Hybrid) has had its ups and downs, but they have stuck with it and haven’t given up. My shyest student was the first to sign up for virtual home visits. My student who acts like she doesn’t care about things “Liked” every Schoology post I did with our classroom Elf on the Shelf during Christmas Break. My students have absolutely kept me going this year, and I am as proud (if not prouder than staff) of them for meeting their obstacles this year head on.
Over Spring Break I had the outstanding opportunity to help write the application for Mesquite Elementary’s National Blue Ribbon Award. We had been nominated, and part of the application was detailing the ways in which we navigated the changes between Remote and Hybrid Instruction. What we’ve documented in that application is far too much to include in this letter, but let me just say I work at the best school with the best staff. We have been so agile and so determined to keep overcoming every obstacle this school year has brought before us. Win or lose, I am so proud of my school.
Now, in late April and May as things wind down after testing, despite masks, I can see the smiles and hear laughter as my students wrap up our novel study. I can see their eyes widen with wonder as they look at the beans they have planted and carefully grown as part of the class science project. Masks or not, these are the moments where memories are made. As I look back on this year, I think they’ll remember the moments more than the masks.
The board meeting of April 27 was genuinely a shock. I went there wanting to hear the board discuss what mitigation strategies would be like as the year wrapped up. Even though I no longer needed hours for my internship, I had been to the first board meeting since the shutdown, and I felt like I needed to see how things would end up over a year later. I will not spend much energy detailing that evening. But I will say I am disappointed in a small pocket of our community and grateful for the leadership that night. Despite what may have been circulated online the group present was not “peaceful”. I sat less than ten feet from our district’s Chief Administrative Officer, Lisa Cervantez as she explained details of our district insurance plans. By the time the crowd in the hallway had pushed its way in, ignoring protocols and hurling insults at district employees, I could not hear what Ms. Cervantez was saying because of their chanting and yelling. They may have been non-violent, but that level of disruption is not peaceful. It is, to put it plainly, the behavior of bullies, and it saddens me.
Reflecting on these more recent events, and the public comments at board meetings, has caused me to wonder how all the hard work of staff, and the undeniable grit of our students can go unnoticed. I do not doubt that the people I hold differences with have deep convictions about their childrens’ well being. What I do doubt is if they’re seeing the bigger picture. Some of those individuals do not have kids in our district, and some of them do not even come from our community. So, in a way it makes sense that they could barge into a study session, and angrily demand to be heard, in a district that has been willing to consider all sides over the past year.
Our district may not have been perfect, but I am proud to look back and see that we have made an invaluable difference in the lives of our students, staff and community members. From day one of this pandemic, every member of our district from the board members to admin, to teachers, specialists, paras, bus drivers and custodians rolled up our sleeves and found new ways to connect with the community and meet the needs of our students. Despite any and all differences or political divides, I know that we will continue to be overcomers. That’s just what we do in Vail. No matter how much a small group of people want to make education a community battleground, the rest of us in Vail know that Education is a Community Effort.
Shannon Jelle
Dear Editor,
Just wanted to voice my approval of your publishing all viewpoints in the Vail Voice. Some issues such as masks and vaccines are controversial, but you seem to have the fortitude to publish them anyway!
To me this is real journalism and free speech.
Karen Bova
Dear Editor,
There are lies of commission and lies of omission. Saguaro National Park is involved in a Whopper of a lie of omission. It is no secret that this year is an especially dry one. The desert plants are suffering. There has been no bloom from the yuccas this year. The prickly pears are blooming a bit, but their pads are almost paper thin.
Into the midst of all of that comes the saguaro cactus covered in glorious white blossoms up and down their stems. (The normal bloom pattern is to produce blooms only at the tips of the arms and top.) What is going on? Well to find an answer, I went to Saguaro National Park. There are large plants covered with blooms right outside the windows of the gift shop. Visitors are looking at all of that beauty. What you won’t find at the visitor center is any mention at all of what is happening.
So I started to ask. Most of the staff at the visitor center are volunteers. They are there to sell merchandise, and they have no idea of what is happening. I did talk to one ranger who said that some of the scientists think that the bloom could possibly maybe be related to the drought, and referred me to a book that had some information.
So what is happening to cause this bloom? The short answer is climate disruption. The over the last few years, the annual swings in temperature have become more extreme. The highs have become hotter and the lows have become colder. The year 2018 was exceptionally cold. We received 8″ of snow in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains near to the park. Saguaros are susceptible to damage from freezing. Their moisture transport system is broken, and they can no longer take moisture from the ground. However, it is not immediately obvious what has happened that they have been damaged. The saguaro can continue to live off of their stored resources for another 8 to 10 years before dieing.
The current drought is also stressing the plants. The past 11 years have been much drier than normal, and this past year has the driest yet.
The bountiful bloom this year is really a last desperate fling to flower and set seeds before dyeing.
Why isn’t the park telling this story? I don’t know. The saguaros in the park have been studied for over 100 years. After doing some digging on the internet I was able to piece together some of this information.
I think that it is a huge lie by omission that this information is not readily accessible to park visitors.
Linda Osburn
Dear Editor,
I was disturbed to read that this dispute may be headed toward Court, when it could be resolved somewhat easily. If you drive along the newly opened extension of East Valencia from Houghton to Old Spanish Trail, you will notice that a resident up on a hill on the east side of where East Valencia meets Old Spanish Trail has had their driveway paved, as a resolution to mitigate the potential impact this extension would have created to the access of their property.
This situation in Vail should easily have the same mutually satisfactory outcome. According to the newspaper article, the residents have a brief list of concerns about using this 1/6-mile stretch of roadway up the hill. All they need to do is ask the developers to review this list and find a way to eliminate these concerns. This would be a relatively simple matter by the developer, merely by performing some improvements such as paving it so that even a 2WD vehicle can navigate the roadway, perhaps even widening the roadway, etc. Everyone should be happy then.
Peter Knorre
